Cresting a virtual tidal wave of publicity, the Rolling Stones kicked off their 50 & Counting tour Sunday night in London with a 2 1/2-hour concert that pulled from throughout the band's half-century career and included guest appearances by Mary J. Blige, Jeff Beck and ex-Stones Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor.

Early reviews of the show -- which revisits the O2 Arena on Thursday before heading to Brooklyn and New Jersey next month -- describe a spectacle somewhat smaller than what the group has brought to arenas in the past.

"This was the Stones in the raw," said Rolling Stone, while England's Sun noted that "the band were tight, but rough around the edges." And although the set list ran long on sure-fire hits like "Start Me Up," "Tumbling Dice" and "Sympathy for the Devil," the Guardian insisted there were moments when the show "seem[ed] to be about more than mere nostalgia." (As if to prove it's still hungry, the band skipped "Satisfaction.")

Blige took to the mouth-shaped stage to duet with Mick Jagger on "Gimme Shelter" and Beck contributed guitar to "I'm Going Down." Taylor, who left the Stones in 1974, returned to solo on the blues-rock nugget "Midnight Rambler"; Wyman manned the bass for "It's Only Rock 'N' Roll" and "Honky Tonk Women." And Keith Richards stepped into the spotlight to sing "Before They Make Me Run" and "Happy."

Tickets for the gig -- which also contained performances of "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot," both new tunes from this month's "GRRR!" compilation -- weren't exactly recession-priced: They cost between 95 and 950 pounds (about $150 to $1,500), according to the Guardian.

But leave it to the Stones to suggest that was someone else's fault. "How's everyone in the cheap seats?" Jagger reportedly asked at one point. "The problem is they're not so cheap!"

Watch a video of clips from the show below.

[For the Record, 9 a.m. Nov. 26: An earlier version of this post misstated the length of the Rolling Stones' career. They have been performing for a half-century.]

Fans who saw the last show of U2’s North American tour Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York City had an incredible bit of luck. For one thing, Bill Clinton was in the house, but blessedly refrained from sitting in on saxophone.

Fans who showed up Wednesday night in New York to see U2 tribute band Unforgettable Fire got more than their money’s worth when members of the real U2 — guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton — joined the performance.

The free summer concerts at the Levitt Pavilion band shells have long offered an invigorating mix of touring and local acts to the L.A. area. Saturday’s show at the Levitt in Pasadena figures to be one of this season’s highlights with the grand-scale retro collective Vaud and the Villains.

U2 singer Bono and guitarist the Edge joined Yoko Ono and various dignitaries on Ellis Island on Wednesday for New York City's inaugural John Lennon Day. They were there to unveil artwork dedicated to the late Beatle.

Albert Hammond Jr., best known for his steady rhythm guitar work as a member of The Strokes, prepared for his first solo album since 2008’s “¿Cómo Te Llama?” in a manner seemingly contradictory to the image of his stylishly rumpled garage band: by philosophizing.